The Cavaliers don’t have high hopes in free agency, with just a midlevel exception with which to utilize, and Cleveland not exactly beig considered a destination in the world of the NBA.
But it seems the Cavs do intend to try to supplement the current roster with a some lower-priced veterans, if not right away, then before the season.
Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the Cavs may even look to split the midlevel exception, “which starts around $9.5 million,” to land a couple of players.
Fedor went on the mention a number of available veteras who may be on the Cavs’ radar, from Knicks shooting guard Alec Burks (a former Cav) to Knicks forward/guard Reggie Bullock to Magic small forward Otto Porter Jr. and Bulls guards Garrett Temple and Denzel Valentine.
Pelicans guard Josh Hart, a restricted free agent, also has been linked to the Cavs by several outlets, including Fedor. But retricted free agents are a long shot, given Cleveland’s current situation and salary-cap limitations.
With that in mind, the Cavs could also make a trade to acquire help, just as they did last week when they landed point guard Ricky Rubio in a deal with the Timberwolves.
We have heard that they have at least taken calls on leading scorer Collin Sexton and been involved in talks centered on 76ers star guard/forward Ben Simmons. Reports also suggest they may be willing to listen to offers for forward Larry Nance Jr.
So there indeed remains the potential to make a splash and get fans talking about the franchise again. But as of now, it seems, they are thinking smaller and perhaps more realistically entering free agency.
Most of their big moves are more likely to take place during the season once they get a look at what they have … and what rival teams have determined who to make available themselves.
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Something’s gotta give with this team if they truly want to make the playoffs this year.
I like the Rubio addition. Young guys will be a year better. Mobley seems more like a move for the future, not this season. Its hard to imagine him not getting tossed around and bullied by much stronger NBA guys this year. Hope to be wrong about that.
Does it feel like the free agents mentioned are the type of difference makers Cavs need to take a big leap forward this year?
Bickerstaff certainly has his work cut out for him. A lot of the wins from last year came frim the help from Andre Drummond. And there were a lot of blowouts after he left. I was hoping for a bigger splash in free agency, given all the talk about next season finally mattering.